Great Blue Heron Week

TWENTY-FIFTH GREAT BLUE HERON WEEK
Wednesday, June 1 through Sunday, June 5

Join the Audubon Society of Portland, Portland Parks and Recreation, Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, Willamette Riverkeeper, and Urban Greenspaces Institute in celebrating a quarter century since the Great Blue Heron was adopted as Portland’s official city bird.  This year’s Great Blue Heron Week festivities will focus on Ross Island, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, establishment of a Slow-No Wake Zone in the Ross Island Lagoon and a portion of the Holgate Channel.  Activities will feature bird walks, presentations, and will culminate with the annual Ross Island Regatta.  All events are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, June 1st, Great Blue Heron Week Proclamation, Portland City Council 10 am. 

Wednesday, June 1st  Envisioning Ross Island and the Willamette River’s South Reach, 6:30 pm to 8 pm. Mike Houck, Urban Greenspaces Institute and Bob Sallinger, Audubon Society of Portland.
Location:  Mirabella Portland, Willamette Hall, 3550 S.W. Bond Avenue. 
This presentation, open to the public and residents at South Waterfront, will discuss the future of Ross Island and the recent creation of a Slow Now Wake Zone to protect fish and wildlife habitat and provide a safer, quieter experience for kayakers and canoeists in the Ross Island Lagoon and on Holgate Channel.  They will also discuss the role that South Waterfront and Ross Island play in efforts to restore the Lower Willamette.  Mike and Bob are part of a team of people who have worked for the past several years to bring a portion of Ross Island into public ownership and create a vision for what the Ross Island complex might be in the future.  Mike Houck will follow the presentation with a bird walk at South Waterfront at 7:30 am on Thursday, June 2nd. 

Thursday, June 2nd, Birding The Willamette Greenway at South Waterfront, 7:30 to 9 am.  Meet Mike Houck, South Waterfront, SW Curry and Willamette Greenway for an early morning bird song walk along the temporary greenway trail at South Waterfront for residents and the public.  Mike will point out the Great Blue Heron nesting colony on nearby Ross Island and identify birds by sight and song along the greenway.  Meet on the greenway trail on the Willamette River side of the Meriwether at 7:30 am sharp.  Bring your binoculars and spotting scopes and dress for the weather.  No registration required.

Friday, June 3rd,  Herons of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, 8 am to 11 am.  This two-mile stroll around the 160-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge is appropriate for the entire family.  Mike will point out Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, and a host of song birds that call the Bottoms home.  Meet Mike at the parking lot at the north end of Sellwood Park at 8 am sharp! (corner of SE 7th Avenue and SE Sellwood Boulevard).  Bring binoculars and dress for the weather.  Part of the hike will be on dirt, possibly muddy, trail so wear appropriate footwear.  No registration required.

Saturday, June 4th, Herons of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, 8 am to 11 am.  This early morning repeat of the two-mile stroll around the 160-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge is appropriate for the entire family.  Mike will point out Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, and a host of songbirds that call the Bottoms home.  Meet Mike at the parking lot at the north end of Sellwood Park (corner of SE 7th Avenue and SE Sellwood Boulevard).  Bring binoculars and dress for the weather.  Part of the hike will be on dirt, possibly muddy, trail, so wear appropriate footwear.  No registration required.

Saturday, June 4th, Peregrine Watch at OMSI, 2 pm to 4 pm.  Join expert naturalists to see and learn about nesting peregrine falcons on the Marquam Bridge.  For full details go to:  www.audubonportland.org/about/events/pw2011.


Twenty-fifth Annual Great Blue Heron Week Ross Island Regatta
Sunday, June 5th 2011
10 am to 1 pm

In honor of the 25th Annual Great Blue Heron Week Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe,  Audubon Society of Portland, Portland Parks and Recreation, Urban Greenspaces Institute, Wasabi Paddling Club, and Willamette Riverkeeper will host the Ross Island Regatta.  The Regatta is an opportunity to enjoy a morning on the Willamette River and celebrate the newly established Slow-No Wake Zone in the Ross Island Lagoon and the upstream portion of the Holgate Channel. 

The Audubon Society of Portland, Portland Parks and Recreation, and Urban Greenspaces Institute will lead one flotilla from Willamette Park boat ramp at 10 am sharp.  The flotilla will paddle across the Willamette to the Oregon Yacht Club and head on downstream through the Holgate Channel and past 160-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge listening for and looking at birds and other wildlife along the way.

Wasabi Paddling Club and Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe will launch from the boat dock at the Boat House just upstream of the Hawthorne Bridge.  If you don’t own a kayak or canoe you can rent one at Alder Creek.

All groups will rendezvous in the Ross Island lagoon at 11:15 am to learn more about the Slow-No Wake Zones for the lagoon and Holgate Channel and about the future of Ross Island Nature Preserve. 

Directions and More Information:
From Willamette Park:  Launch 10 am sharp.  Meet Mike Houck, Director of the Urban Greenspaces Institute and Bob Sallinger, Director of Conservation for the Audubon Society of Portland, Travis Williams, Director of  Willamette Riverkeeper, and Emily Roth, Portland Parks and Recreation Natural Resource Planner at 9:40 am at the Willamette Park boat ramp to allow for put in and launch at 10 am sharp.  If you are renting a canoe or kayak from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe or the nearby Portland Kayak Company make sure you leave plenty of time to get your craft and be at Willamette Park for a 10 am sharp departure.  Alder Creek Kayak, 503-285-1819; www.aldercreekcom.  Portland Kayak Company, 503-459-4050; www.portlandkayak.com. 


After unloading your craft at the boat ramp be sure to park in a CAR parking space.  You will be ticketed if you park in a trailer space. Be sure to pay for parking.  There are two machines near the restroom at the south end of the main parking lot.  For more information contact Mike Houck, mikehouck@urbangreenspaces.org or call 503-319-7155.  We will return to Willamette Park at approximately 1 pm. 

From Hawthorne Bridge Boat House:  Wasabi Paddling Club will be coordinating their launch and Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe staff will provide information to people renting their kayaks or canoes on meeting place.  Alder Creek is located at 1515 SE Water Avenue; Phone: 503-285-1819; www.aldercreekcom.  You can also rent from Portland Kayak Company which has a shop adjacent to Willamette Park at 6600 SW Macadam Avenue;  Phone: 503-459-4050; www.portlandkayak.com.